Oppression On Women In The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

1184 Words3 Pages

“The Yellow Wall-Paper” is a tragedy fiction about a woman, whose name is not stated, suffered from “nervous condition” and her journey to insanity in the process of her “rest cure” treatment. The story plot conveys gender inequality, social bias, and struggle women faced in that time period society. The author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, conveys message of the oppression on women in the nineteenth century using first person narration with the help of symbolism. Within the literal story plot underlies the symbols of male oppression in the ninetieth century; symbols such as the yellow wallpaper, the barred window, and the journal’s writing. The yellow wallpaper symbolizes the narrator’s imprisonment and her fight to “break free” from the inequality suppression. The room was meant to set up …show more content…

The narrator and her husband interactions shows her submissive in terms of gender equality. Although John perceives the narrator as a child with no volunteer ideas, it is shown in her writings that this is not valid but shaped to comply by her surroundings and society. The narrator’s inferior had negatively impacts her mental and physical health to the point she ripped off the wallpaper to break free. Nevertheless, when read critically, the story also brought the women suffrage and its struggle to light. Since this story was published, women had slowly breaking away from men’s suppression and gains more rights. In short, society and our culture define our gender role; however, the changing economic, social, and education open up a new path for women. Nowadays, women are given the chance to prove themselves and can act beyond their gender role. However, the equality between genders has not been achieved yet. Therefore, women should continue to fight for their rights and freedoms until they are treated with respect and enjoy

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